Bamco Inc. NY Sells 11,317 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bamco Inc. NY trimmed its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 30.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,317 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY's holdings in CME Group were worth $5,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Stock Up 0.9 %

CME stock traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.00. The company had a trading volume of 5,095,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,948,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $243.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.53. The company has a market capitalization of $87.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.